Pilot Trial of Peer Support for Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is a chronic and often disabling illness affecting 1-2% of US adults. Peer support programs are an innovative and promising model to reverse demoralization, activate consumers to seek more effective care, develop consumers' self-management skills, and restore participation in work and other social roles. Peer-led programs can address key barriers to dissemination of effective psychosocial treatment. This pilot effectiveness trial will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a structured peer support program based on the Certified Peer Specialist Program of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA). Following the philosophy of recovery, the intervention focuses on:

• Motivating consumers to develop an expectation of recovery
• Encouraging regular self-monitoring of mood symptoms
• Training consumers to develop self-management skills for symptom control and problem solving
• Activating consumers to be more informed partners in care and more effective self-advocates
• Motivating and assisting consumers to reclaim work and other rewarding social roles

The investigators will use a rigorous research design to evaluate how structured peer support promotes core values of mental health recovery. Impact of the intervention will be judged across a range of outcomes:

• Long-term control of mood disorder symptoms
• Optimal participation in work and other rewarding social roles
• Consumers' perceptions of autonomy and full participation in the treatment process Findings from this pilot study will inform the development of a full-scale effectiveness trial to include a broader range of participants and health care settings.